



10 



1 ./^ ■> ' .» 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. 



Ike 
Lire Meloaious^ 

FRED CLARE BALDWIN 



Press of 

The Chronicle Publishing Company 

Orange, Ne-wr Jersey 

1909 



7531713 

■ hsszLf 



CagjB^ 1909 

By 

JRED CLARE BALDWIN 



g:CL4253v;76 



CONTENTS 



Tributes of Memory and Love: 

A Trinity of Motherhood - - - 13 

The Old Home - - - - 14 

Sing Me a Song, Love - - - 16 

An American Nobleman - - 18 

What Care We? - - - - 20 

Love Me, Dear Heart - - 22 

Friendship ----- 23 

Sentiments of the Seasons: 

Sunshine or Shadow - - - 27 

A Spring Song - - - - 28 

When the Cherry Blooms are Falling 30 

My Garden Dream - - - 32 

Dewdrops and Violets - - 34 

The Summer Pilgrim - - - 36 

A Ballad of the Sea - - - 38 

The Time to Sing - - - - 40 

A Lullaby - - - - 41 

The Rythmic Rain - - - 42 

An Autumn Reverie - - - 44 

Autumnal Strains - - - - 46 

An Arctic Rival . _ _ 47 

A Christmas Carol - - - 48 

The Conquering Contrast - - 49 

The Old Year and the New - - 50 

Easter Greeting _ _ . 52 



Contents 



Songs of Service: 

A Wedlock of Words - - - 55 

We Thank Thee, Lord, for Men - 56 

Abraham Lincoln - - - - 58 

The Reward - . - - 59 

The Prisoned Angel - - - 60 

On the Death of McKinley - - 61 

The Helmsman - - - - 62 

John Hay _ _ _ _ 64 

Columbia's Reply - - - - 66 

Apostrophe to the American Citizen 68 

Will You? 69 

The Good Old Days - - - 70 

Good Night - - - - 72 

The Better Way - _ - 73 

A Song of Labor - - - - 74 

The Heart for Strength - - 76 

A North Jerseyman's Philosophy: 

Workers and Shirkers - - - 79 

Needless Worry _ _ _ go 

Humor ----- 81 

Education - - _ - 82 

Genius ----- 83 

Pessimism . - . - 84 

Poetry ----- 86 

Reputation - - _ - 88 

Preaching ----- 89 



Contents 



Future- ward Strains: 

Voices of Life - - - - 93 

No Quarrel with Life - - - 94 

The Song Unsung . _ _ 95 

A Prayer for Faith - - - 96 

Life's Holy Grail _ _ - 97 

The Soul's Insistence - - - 98 

An Easter-tide Reverie - - 100 

A Soliloquy - - - - 102 

The Harpstrings of the Hireling Rust 105 

The Heritage of the Church - - - 109 



Jff- (H. S- 



In the roar of the ocean, 

In the trill of the thrush ; 
In the dawn's sweet commotion, 

In the eventide's hush ; 
In the splendour of morning, 

In the calmness of night ; 
In the iris adorning 

The dove in her flight; 
In the lightning that flashes 

Across the black sky; 
In the thunder that crashes; 

Or the babe's clinging cry ; 
In the brooklet that dances 

And sings on its way ; 
In the maiden's shy glances ; 

In the jewel's warm ray — 
My soul finds a pleasure 

It cannot exhaust; 
And gloats o'er a treasure 

That will never be lost: 
To him who will earn it 

The world doth belong; 
And to him v/ho will learn it 

All life is a song ! 



jLvioutes of j^emory and Love 



^rihutes of f^emory and Love 1 3 



A TRINITY OF MOTHERHOOD 

A mother's love — its meaning who can measure. 
Or who such depths of hallowed mystery sound? 
Outside the heart of God so rich a treasure 
Has never yet been found ! 

A mother's face — all radiant and resplendent 
Where memory guards the shrine with watchful 
care! 
What master hand e'er wrought with touch trans- 
cendent 
A thing so wondrous fair? 

A mother's kiss — how its impress lingers, 
Through all the change that o'er one's soul may 
creep ! 

It thrills me now as these poor trembling fingers 
The chords of memory sweep ! 



14 ^^e Life 9^elo(lwus 



THE OLD HOME 

A weather-beaten house, an unkept yard 
With weeds for flowers and no gate to guard 
The path whose every inch to thought is sweet 
Because once pressed and oft by her dear feet ; 

An empty, crumbling house with not a door 
Yet on its hinge but tells me o'er and o'er 
How oft her patient hand its knob hath turned — 
How vast a debt from me that hand hath earned 1 

I listen for her foot-step in the hall ; 

Once more I wait her voice my name to call ; 

A moment more, it seems, her face must bring 

To give me as of old my welcoming ! 

I listen but to hear my throbbing heart ; 

I wait but to intensify its smart ; 

I wait and know that sadly so I must 

Till heaven's own portal gives me back my trust. 



jTrihutes of S^emory and Love 1 5 



The tears fall thick and fast, I scarce can see 
What kindly memory would do for me — 
Ah ! Through the mist there smiles a hallowed face 
Illumined by all that makes the mother's grace : 

Go with me, picture, through the changing years ! 
Bright be thou kept by ever-falling tears ! 
I kiss thee, press thee to my heart, and pray 
Thy guardianship through life's forbidding fray! 



1 6 The Life 9^ el odious 



SING ME A SONG, LOVE 

Sing me a song, love, 

The night- winds are sighing; 

Sing to me long, love, 
The daylight is dying; 

Out of your glad heart 
Sing to my sad heart — 

Sing love, the sunbeams are flying! 

Into my heart, love. 

The shadows are creeping; 
Sing to my heart, love. 

Its watchmen are sleeping; 
To songs that are olden 

The dark is beholden — 
Sing love, the night- winds are weeping! 



^rioutes of J^emory and Love 1 7 



Sweet is the balm, love, 

Your music is making; 
Deep is the calm, love, 

Your words are awaking; 
In the heart you are voicing 

My heart is rejoicing — 
Sing love, the shadows are breaking! 



l8 jLhe Life J^eiodious 



AN AMERICAN NOBLEMAN 

If to be numbered with the great 

One must have worn the robes of state 

Or felt the pride of vast estate ; 

If every claim to Honor's crown 

Lay in the path of great renown, 

And Worth were slain by Fortune's frown; 

Sad were it then for our poor race, 

And vain the picture I would trace — 

My eulogy were out of place. 

I knew a man, and loved him, too, 
Whose record stands this crucial test; 
Who trusted him e'er found him true — 
They trusted most who knew him best. 

His words were all of Truth's own mint ; 
His promise -'/as a bond of gold ; 
Of mercy knew his soul no stint; 
Prom need his hand could not with-hold. 

His deeds were written on his face; 
And though unskilled in Fashion's art, 
He had that gentleness and grace 
WTiich comes to those of honest heart. 



^rihutes of jylemory and Love IQ 



In fields that Fame may never find, 
With patient toil his tasks were wrought ; 
Yet o'er each task there stooped a mind 
That touched the wider world of thought. 
Nor till our unchecked tears did flow 
Upon the form that death had stilled, 
Could our blind love awake to know 
How large a place his life had filled. 

If Heaven keeps watch with equal ken 
Above the deeds and aims of men. 
And angels write with faithful pen ; 
If manhood marks life's farthest goal. 
And all that lasts is wealth of soul ; 
Then Hope may smile at Fame's poor scroll, 
And we may count among the great 
The one our tears commemorate — 
A noble-man in every trait. 



20 fTAe Life 9yfe?odious 



WHAT CARE WE? 

CThe twentieth S^nniversary) 

The sky shone bright that summer's night — 

Do you rem.ember, love? 

And what cared we in our ecstasy 

That the whispering trees and the laughing breeze 

Were watching us above? 

The gossiping trees and the tattling breeze, 

The bending boughs that heard our vows, 

The twinkling stars in the smiling sky, 

And the stately cloud that went tip-toeing by — 

They all looked down in my happy face 

As I held you fast in my heart's embrace, 

But what cared I, love — 0, what cared I ? 



jLrioutes of S^emory and Love 21 



And since that bright and blissful night — 

yes, my dear, 'tis so! 

Full twenty years with their toil and tears, 

Twice ten long years with their hopes and fears 

Have marked the way we go ; 

And have left their trail for the world to spy 

In the silvering hair and the furrowing care 

And the far-away look in the glistening eye : 

Yet for Youth's loud boast and for Time's decree, 

Say, what care we, dear, what care we? 

On the love-lit face years leave no trace 

That love can see — so what care we? 



22 'The Life Melodious 



LOVE ME, DEAR HEART 

My love for you, dear heart, has come to this — 

That day by day I only long to be 

What your sweet soul would hope to find in me, 

And what you wish my inspiration is; 

Your will expressed and sealed with love's pure 

kiss — 
(0 untold depths of hallowed mystery! 

heights of unreported ecstasy!) 

Then each endeavor crowns itself with bliss. 

Love me, dear heart, and trust me to be true — 

1 will not trample on a thing so pure ; 

Love me, dear heart, I will not take from you 
The trust that makes my joy than heaven more 

sure ; 
Love me, dear heart, and I will strive to be 
All that your love could hope to find in me ! 



tributes of jVLemory and Love 23 



FRIENDSHIP 

Thou hast a friend — fond boast — but dost thou 

know 
Of what rare worth to thee the treasure is ? 
Or waitest thou withal to measure this, 
Till, worn with grief, thy face be bended low 
To hide the countless coursing tears that flow 
From unsealed fountains of neglected bliss. 
And hungry hands reach out for one they miss — 
Till then must friendship's worth unmeasured go? 

Thou hast a friend ? 0, haste thee then away, 
Let speak thy love and share his joy to-day! 
Thou hast a friend? 0, heed the warning call, 
On living ears thy words of praise let fall ! 
Thou hast a friend ? 0, ere it be too late, 
By friendship's fireside sit and meditate ! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 



Sentiments of the Seasons 27 



SUNSHINE OR SHADOW 

Whether the day be dry or wet, 

Do not fret; 
Whether the sky be bright or drear, 

Do not fear; 
The soul can make its atmosphere; 
To teach our feet a steadier pace 
And give our gait a truer grace 
The sun can hide his helpful face — 

And yet 

Be near ! 



28 Tke Life 9^elodious 



A SPRING SONG 

Sing, blue-bird, sing ! 
Let thy voice through the woodland ring ! 
A message of cheer from a swelling throat, 
And a vision of joy in each glad note — 

Sing on, blue-bird, sing ! 

Rise, daffodil. 
Despite earth's lingering chill ! 
Thy face upturned to April skies 
Doth whisper a hope that never dies — 

Bravo, wee daffodil I 

Flow, brooklet, flow 
O'er the shining sands below! 
Thy song shall wake the sleeping flowers, 
And fill the day with tuneful hours — 

Flow, laughing brooklet, flow! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 2g 



Come, lovers, come! 
There are star-lit fields to roam! 
There's a trysting place 'neath whispering 

boughs 
Where the world-heart waits to hear your 
vows — 

Come, happy lovers, come! 



30 'The Life Melodious 



^VHEN THE CHERRY BLOOMS ARE 
FALLING 

When the cherry blooms are falling 

Like the sifted snow, 
'Tis then we hear the red-breast calling — 

Piping soft and low; 
He is saying to his mate 

''With this ring I thee do wed;'' 
He is pledging his estate — 

She is listening overhead. 

Well she knoWs what empty coffers 

Mock his love-mad song; 
Yet spurns she not the heart that proffers 

Love so true and strong — 
And from out the jewelled boughs 

Blended notes we soon shall hear — 
An harmony of ancient vows 

To the world-heart ever dear. 



Sentiments of the Seasons 3 1 



Round and round the petals whirling, 

Kissed with golden gleam, 
All the emerald court impearling. 

Crown love's beauteous dream ; 
Life is rich where hearts hold sway — 

All its realms to love belong; 
'Tis love can fill life's longest day 

With beauty and with song ! 



32 ^Tke Liife 9^e1odious 



MY GARDEN DREAM 

A fragrance filled the evening air 

And mingled with the falling dew; 
The dear old garden-path was there — 

And I was walking, love, with you ; 
The dear old garden-path was there — 

And bending o'er the grape-vine chair 
I wreathed the roses in your hair 

Just as I used to do ! 

With shadowy charm and subtle grace 

The moonbeams fell both far and near; 
Such rhythmic silence filled the place 

As only lovers' hearts could hear ; 
While rhythmic silence filled the place 

Through shifting shadows I could trace 
The love-light of a maiden's face 

Than all the world more fair! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 33 



So ran my dream its course along — 

Yet from the garden issued not; 
Entranced by love's unuttered song 

It circled round one blissful spot ; 
Entranced by love's unuttered song, 

Enslaved by fetters sweet and strong, 
It flowed the scented bowers among 

With all but love forgot ! 



34 The JLife l^elodious 



DEWDROPS AND VIOLETS 

O dew-drop glistening in the morning sun, 
Destined to die ere half the day be gone, 
Mourn not the brief span of thy bright career; 
To one sad heart hath come thy radiant cheer — 
Count not thy work ill done ! 

O violet, blooming in the mossy dell. 
Far, far from where men's busy millions dwell. 
Think not thy lone life hath been spent in vain ; 
To one weak soul hath courage come again 
By what thou hadst to tell ! 

fellow-toiler tempted oft to doubt, 
Because, forsooth, fame hath not sought thee out. 
Nor honor crowned thee with her glittering wand. 
Let not so small a thing withhold thy hand 
Or turn thy steps about. 



Sentiments of the Seasons 35 



For men's poor praise make no unseemly haste ; 
Strive only that thy work be pure and chaste — 
Such as an honest self may dare applaud ; 
For in the wide economy of God 
No true deed goes to waste ! 



36 The Life J^elodious 



THE SUMMER PILGRIM 

So bright was his smile and his heart so free, 
His step so bounding, his greeting so gay — 

I made bold to ask, would he pardon me, 
But where was he hasting away ? 

I'm going, quoth he, where the skies are blue. 
And the air is sweet, and the earth is clean; 

Where the heavens are wide and the world is true 
And the works of God are seen. 

There's a hamlet I know whose hundred charms 
Have beckoned my homesick heart to rest ; 

Whose guardian hills with outstretched arms 
Have called me to their breast. 

There's a brook in the meadow that laughs and 
sings, 

And a willow that e'en hath the heart to weep ; 
There are soft-shod winds whose murmurings 

Lull the wearied soul to sleep. 



Sentiments of the Seasons 37 



There's a magic pool in an echoing dell 
Where oft to me myself was shown — 

What gain or loss, 'twill calmly tell, 
Have marked the years since flown. 

There's a hallowed spot where I hope to find, 
Still undisturbed by the woodman's craft, 

Two names emblazed, two hearts entwined. 
Upon one silver shaft. 

And I long to muse where the twilight weaves 
Some threads of gold in the day's dark pall ; 

And to hear unawed 'neath sheltering eaves 
The whippoorwill's lone call ! 



38 The Life 7^1 el odious 



A BALLAD OF THE SEA 

Blow, evening zephyr, blow! 

For thou hast far to go 
Ere on the billows thou shalt greet 
My sailor-lad with thy whispering sweet — 

Blow, gentle zephyr, blow! 
And he will catch the scent of flowers 

Upon the dancing sea; 
And he will think of golden hours 

And he will dream of me — 

And he will dream of me ! 

Stay, midnight tempest, stay! 

Withhold thy hand, I pray! 
Rouse not yon waves with thy cruel scourge; 
Break not love's dream with thy dismal dirge — 

Stay, maddening tempest, stay ! 
O'er crag and cliff let thy fury fall, 
But spare the love-laden sea; 
And my laddie will list to my echoing call 

And he will come back to me — 

And he will come back to me ! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 39 



Cease, white-robed billows, cease 

Your rythmic chant of peace ! 
Leave me to roam the wreck-strewn shore 
With naught to bless but the dreams of yore — 

Cease, hollow waves, cease ! 
My life is like a broken spar 

Upon the tossing sea ; 
For my heart cries out in the morning bar, 

And my laddie comes not to me — 

My laddie comes not to me ! 



40 Tlie Life Jylelodious 



THE TIME TO SING 

Yea, can'st thou sing when thou are glad; 
And can'st thou weep when thou art sad? 
Ah, then 'tis well with thee, mine heart ! 
Songs are the gratitude of joy ; 
Tears are the balm life doth employ 
To heal the wound and soothe the smart 
And check the scar of pain's fierce dart ! 

But can'st thou sing when thou art sad ; 
And can'st thou weep when thou art glad? 
then rejoice, rejoice, mine heart! 
Songs come to bless when cares annoy; 
Tears have the power to sweeten joy; 
Pain hath some pleasure to impart — 
And thou hast mastered well thine art ! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 4 1 



A LULLABY 

Hush, my babe, in all the westland. 
Angel hands have veiled the skies; 

Hark, my babe, from out the restland 
Voices bid thee close thine eyes. 

Let the night winds not alarm thee, 
Stars are watching thee above; 

Whispering shadows shall not harm thee — 
Kound thee guards a mother's love. 

Dreamland calls thee — go and wander 
Through her pathways wild and free ; 

By the jewelled doorway yonder 
Mother's heart will wait for thee. 

On all the hills when morn is breaking, 
And shadows lift from laughing streams, 

Mother's joy will clasp thee waking. 
Within the pearl-mist of thy dreams. 



42 Tne Liife J^elodious 



THE RYTHMIC RAIN 

I dreamed last night as the rhythmic rain 
Woke the jewelled chords of an old refrain — 
I dreamed, dear heart, you were here again; 

And it seemed that the echoing roof 
Was a tent of song with love's sweet strain 

Shot through its wondrous woof. 

And then I stood where, far and wide, 
The midnight broods o'er the swelling tide ; 
And my thoughts were sad as the winds that 
sighed 

As the raindrops turned to tears ; 
For there echoed a sob from the hidden side 

Of the ever- widening years. 

Then a silver mJst on the midnight stood, 
And a silent vision of maidenhood — 
Of a maiden loved and a maiden wooed, 

And a joy too full to be kept ; 
Of a hope too sweet for a world too rude, 

And of tears too deep to be wept. 



Sentiments of the Seasons 43 



Then the rain had ceased and the night was still ; 
But love's long dream lived on until 
The dawn's deep stir lent its holy thrill 

To the keel that carried me home ; 
For the ocean's rim was a love-lit hill, 

And the turn of the tide had come ! 



44 The Life J^elodious 



AN AUTUMN REVERIE 

Welcome, thou rich autumnal haze 
That hoverest o'er these crowded tiles ! 

Familiar friend of bygone days, 
I mark thy sad sweet smiles ! 

To many a dear and distant scene 

Thy soft touch guides my willing thought; 

The swollen stream that rolled between 
At thy touch shrinks to naught : — 

Once more I roam the dream-lit fields 
Where youth's gigantic hopes are born, 

And every view to fancy yields 
The roseate tints of morn. 

'Tis sweet to stand amidst their glow, 
By all their castled grandeur thrilled, 

Ere yet the heart has learned to know 
That dreams go unfulfilled. 

Ah, schoolhouse on the wind-swept hill, 

In weather-burnished brown arrayed, 
On clapboard door and window-sill 
The jackknife's art betrayed ! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 45 



Ah, desks that range from end to end 

Of this crude academic hall, 
Where giants to their huge tasks bend 

Before an ink-stained wall ! 

Ah, scented winds on springtide days 
That through the open windows pour! 

Ah, soft and sweet autumnal haze 
That broods the landscape o'er ! 

Welcome, the sainted scenes that wake 
A slumbering past so free from pain! 

Welcome, their balm-like power to make 
An old heart young again! 

world of waiting care and strife, 
To which my soul comes back in tears, 

Youth's golden prophecy of life 
Shall mock thy ruthless years ! 

Each castle shall be built more grand. 
Each dream recast in richer mold ; 

And, by God's wonder-working hand, 
Each tear be turned to gold ! 



46 The Life Jyle/odwus 



AUTUMNAL STRAINS 

The song-birds now are flying 

To their southland seas — 

A heart of hope behind each stroke so bold ; 

The summer leaves are sighing 

In the autumn breeze — 

Transfiguring death with red and green and gold ; 

My poor soul is replying 

In muffled melodies 

Of joys departed and of griefs untold : — 

But Earth is surely keeping 

Her orbit in the sky — 

And the song-birds will come back to me again; 

The leaves will but be sleeping 

'Neath the winter's lullaby — 

They will rise to join the spring-tide's glad refrain ; 

And my soul will wait with weeping 

Till the storm clouds passing by 

Have swept away all memories of pain ! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 47 



AN ARCTIC RIVAL 

A snow-flake whirling through the air 

Upon a maiden's cheek is falling; 

It doth not ask, it doth not care, 

It doth see me standing there 

An envious wish my heart enthralling; 

And yet methinks this maiden fair 
Full well doth know the things I ponder; 
But why she seemeth not to care 
And yet doth keep me standing there — 
Oh, who can tell me this, I wonder? 

maiden dear, the arctic flake 
Hath kissed thee once and fled forever; 
My pleading love wilt thou but take. 
Twill ne'er grow cold, 'twill ne'er forsake, 
'Twill never die — no never! 



48 The Life j^ el odious 



A CHRISTMAS CAROL 

Once more with music be thou drawn asunder, 

trembling veil of this prophetic night; 

The strains that stirred an ancient world with 

wonder 
Let fall again in waves of rhythmic light ! 

To this hard heart of mine 
And all the world beside, 
Bring thou thy song divine, 
blessed Christmas-tide ! 

How long must Earth with war's discordant 

thunder 
From sea to sea be rocked — from height to height? 
How long will Christ-bought souls go forth ta 

plunder. 
And brazen wrongs do battle with the right? 

Sing, angel choir, again; 
Sing till the cannons rust ! 
Sing till the hates of men 
Are trampled in the dust ! 



Sentiments of the Seasons 49 



THE CONQUERING CONTRAST 

The world-king in a manger lies, 

An herald host of heaven above him; 

Upon a cross the world-king dies 

Ere yet the world awakes to love him. 

Through Bethlehem's radiant night, O hark. 
What angel voices sing unbidden! 

On Calvary, at noon 'tis dark. 

And e'en the face of God is hidden ! 

Now doth that song the nations thrill ; 

Men follow in the way it taketh ; 
A conquering cross adorns the hill 

Upon whose crest the morning breaketh ! 



50 The Life Tylelodious 



THE OLD YEAR AND THE NEW 

With many a vain regret 

And many a smothered sigh, 

With lashes wet 

And wistful eye, 

We gaze upon the parting year 

As on some friend the heart holds dear 

And grieves to bid good-bye: 

Good-bye, Old Year, good-bye. 
We cannot let thee go 
Without the sad and tearful eye, 
Because we love thee so ! 
XO hush, my sorrowing heart; 
His touch made thee more true ; 
The best of friends betimes must part, 
And pain and tears ensue.) 

For this we shall confess 

When memory counts aright. 

Nor selfishness 

Bedims her sight ; 

More joys than sorrows hath he sent us — 

More bright than dark days hath he lent us — 

And so we'll sing to-night : 



Sentiments of the Seasons 5 1 



Good-bye, good-bye, Old Year, 
Our fond eyes watch thy face 
E'en while we give the lusty cheer 
To him who takes thy place ! 
We will be true to thee — 
To him will we be true; 
Be true in deed and memory 
To Old Year and to New! 



52 The Life J^elodious 



EASTER GREETING 

Hail, thou sweet herald of the spring's returning. 
Forerunner of the welcome birds and flowers ! 

Thy coming sets all hearts with joy a-burning, 
And breaks the somber spell of wintry hours. 

Hail, sure-voiced prophet of the earth's reviving — 
Nursed back by kisses of the king of light ! 

Thy wondrous tale of life o'er death surviving 
Hath growing charm for pilgrims of the night. 

Thrice hail, blest angel of the resurrection, 
Whose touch alone can lift the mourner's head I 

Thy radiant robe is but a dim reflection 
Of what in ampler fold adorns our dead. 



Songs of Service 



/ Service 55 



wngs of xjervice 



A WEDLOCK OF WORDS 

Where is the word that rhymeth best 

With beauty — 
And Cometh closer to the core 
Of that sweet sound than all the rest? 
My soul it standeth at thy door — 

'Tis duty; 
The visions of a faithful heart 
Have ruled for aye the realms of art — 

The beautiful 

Are dutiful — 
What God hath joined let no man part! 



S6 The Life MeJoJms 

WE THANK THEE, LORD, 
FOR MEN 

^Thanksgiving Hymn 

For stalwart souls to conscience bound, 
By conscience pressed o'er threatening seas 
A faith to free, a realm to found — 
Rock-ribbed with laws and liberties ; 
For such we thank thee, Lord, again — 
We thank thee. Lord, for men ! 

Nor by a lesser debt enthralled 

Do we exalt the deeds divine 

Of those who heard when Freedom called 

For new-spilt blood to bless her shrine : 

With patriot pride, and sorrowing ken, 

We thank thee. Lord, for men ! 

For all that wide prosperity 
And all the wealth we call our own — 
An harvest field from sea to sea 
Which only brawTi and brain have sown : 
For this we do but thank thee when 
We thank thee. Lord, for men ! 



*ongs 



of Service 57 



For schools and churches, shops and stores ; 
For treasures of the plain and hill; 
For mingling fleets that line our shores 
With emblems of a world's good will — 
Our deeds proclaim their origin — 
We thank thee, Lord, for men ! 

For adverse winds where these have brought 
More skill to prize the favoring breeze ; 
For darkening skies where these have taught 
A nation's nobler destinies; 
When these and worse befall — 'tis then 
We thank thee. Lord, for men ! 



58 The Life ^M^elodious 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

With Humor's wand in hands to hardship used 
He changed the face of Poverty's estate; 
At Wisdom's font he drank insatiate ; 
O'er Destiny's dark sayings deeply mused; 
Of large ambition let him stand accused ; 
Though ne'er will Fame's full tide of joy abate 
That in the mould which cast a soul so great 
Were heart and conscience with ambition fused :- 

As high in honor as in stature tall, 
In vision broader than the plains he trod, 
As firm in courage as the buttressed wall, 
This child of genius was the friend of God ; 
And unto him the martyr's task was given 
To reunite a realm by hatred riven. 



>ongs of Service 59^ 



THE REWARD 

An higher Voice than ours hath taught 
That alms bestowed that men might cheer, 
And prayers rehearsed for men to hear, 
Have their reward in what was sought. 

Who lives a life of honest worth. 
Regardless of the praise of men, 
Will reap more joy than any ten 

Whose motives had a meaner birth. 

Who sings a song, or wipes a tear. 
And helps his fellow-men to rise. 
May miss the way to many a prize 

Which men go stumbling after here ; 

But when the mists of time have flown, 
A grateful host will throng his path, 
And wondering at the wealth he hath. 

Will multiply it with their own ! 



6o The Life Melodious 



THE PRISONED ANGEL 

Within a rough, unseemly block of stone, 
Half buried by the dust of trampling feet, 
There slept a secret beautiful and sweet. 

A child of Genius, musing and alone. 
Passed by that way at holy hush of even. 
And paused to mark a miracle of heaven : — 

From out the rock a radiant figure stepped. 
Illumed with love and all celestial grace — 
Upon his soul there gazed a wondrous face. 

The vision passed, but in his heart there kept 
This pictured meaning of the mystery — 
A prisoned angel pleading to be free ! 

With tender strength he chipped the chains away, 
Nor dreamed that aught his holy task might foil ; 
The wondering pilgrims watched his patient toil. 

And so he wrought, till one resplendent day. 
When whispering low, and with a master's voice 
"Arise \" said he ; and now all men rejoice. 

Let all who search the far-off fields to find 

Where Glory comes to crown some worthy deed. 
This homely parable make haste to heed. 

By every wayside some neglected mind 
Awaits a master's voice to call it forth 
In sculptured beauty and immortal worth! 



/ Service 6 1. 



fongs o 



ON THE DEATH OF M'KINLEY 

When circling years have come and gone, 
And centuries have multiplied 
The envied names of those who died 
Amidst the glow of honor won : 

When fame shall guard her sacred gate 
With fierer sword than now we see, 
And her increasing task shall be 
To sift the greatest from the great ; 

E'en then will live McKinley's name, 
And history will fondly tell 
With what forgiving words he fell 
Beneath a blow too foul for shame. 



62 The Liife S^elodious 



THE HELMSMAN 

The lights grow dim along the rumbling shore; 
An awful dread haunts every soul embarked : 
Uncharted reefs and slumbering shoals, un- 
marked, 

Enhance the darkness with their dismal roar. 

From stem to stern while all her timbers quake 
There comes a master to the good ship's helm — 
His heart so fibered as the twisted elm 

That bends before the blast but does not break. 

The harbor bell falls short of any ear ; 

The deepening mist no beacon now can pierce: 
No bark, 'tis said, can breast a sea so fierce — 

Its keel no hand through such a storm can steer. 



63 Songs of S 



ongs Of oervice 



Yet, undismayed, the helmsman keeps his place. 
Nor quails before the crashing wind and wave ; 
To calm the fearful and to cheer the brave 

Some unseen star lights up his rugged face. 

So stands he there to greet the morn's sweet 
breath, 

When gone for aye is all that night of woe ; 

But when the world his worth awakes to know. 
Its paeans fall on ears asleep in death. 



64 The Life T^elod-ioiLS 



JOHN HAY 

There is sadness to-day on the old Ship of State; 

The sailors go weeping — 

The captain is keeping 
A vigil of love for the loss of his mate. 

The flag is half-masted that floats at her peak ; 
An eloquent token 
Of sorrow unspoken. 
Though fain would the nations their sorrow be^ 
speak. 

He cringed not to fear, nor from dut\' recoiled ; 

And his death gives to glory 

Another bright stor\' 
Of honor unstained and of greatness unspoiled. 



/ Service 65 



fongs of service. 



And now shall the roll of our heroes increase ; 

For his name, all immortal, 

Will be writ on the portal 
Where rise the white stones of the temple of peace ! 



66 The Life J^elodious 



COLUMBIA'S REPLY 

We're told the Persians taught their youth 

Three things, forsooth; 
To ride the horse with grace and skill, 
To make the arrow do their will. 

To tell the truth. 

Old Sparta trained each son to wield 

On open field. 
His weapon in the State's defense — 
And bade him not return from thence 

Without his shield. 

.My native land, I ask thee now, 

How speakest thou? 
A million sons thy message wait; 
What word of thine shall make them great — 

What mutual vow ? 



/ Service 67 



fongs of oervice 



Columbia's answer to her own : 

First, bend thee down 
And kiss the earth thou standest on — 
Tis sacred soil where Freedom won 

So fair a crown. 

Pledge, then, thy life by every art 

Of hand and heart, 
'er fields enriched with patriots' blood, 
To sow the seeds of brotherhood — 

Nor spurn thy part! 



68 The Life Melodious 

APOSTROPHE TO THE AMERICAN 

CITIZEN 

To Freedom's loins thy lineage traced, 
Thy lordly mien by manhood graced, 
Fear not to stand among the kings. 
Nor shirk the tasks that kingship brings — 
The tests by which all kings are faced : 

While self restraint doth vindicate 
Thy right to wear the robes of state 
And generous deeds engage thy hand. 
So long thy righteous throne shall stand — 
And empires on thy word shall wait ! 



/ Service 69 



fongs of oervice 



WILL YOU ? 

There's a word for you to say — 

Will you say it? 
Some one's honor is at stake, 
Some one's heart about to break. 
And that some one turns to you 
For just one word to keep him true — 

Will you delay it? 

There's a work for you to do — 

Will you do it? 
It cannot fall to other hands, 
'Twill not be yours in other lands ; 
To-day is here, there is no morrow. 
Postponement is the path to sorrow — 

Will you pursue it? 

There's a crown for you to take — 

Will you take it? 
Its gems are teardrops crystallized, 
And cherished hopes unrealized; 
Its throne-path is beset with strife, 
And leads through victory unto life — 

Will you forsake it? 



yo The Life JVlelodioxis 



^^THE GOOD OLD DAYS'' 

*The good old days" 0, when were they? 

When was that golden age, my friend, 
To which thy sad thoughts ever stray 

And all thy favoring judgments bend? 

Was e'er an age so blest as ours 

With comforts for the common man? 

Did wakened thought with all its powers 
E*er build on half so vast a plan? 

When stood man's mind unchained as now ? 

When knew his soul such liberty? 
When graced such crowns the toiler's brow 

Or reaped his toil so just a fee? 

This is the age that sings the deed 
Of him who "stands behind the gun ;" 

That tests all souls by one short creed, 
The heart's intent, the duty done. 



iongs 



of Service yj 



The Master*s spirit moulds the earth, 
Both men and nations own its sway, 

And every hour records the birth 
Of some new blessing come to stay. 

So moves the world in upward trend 
Despite our melancholy sighs, 

Look up, my pessimistic friend. 

And read the signs in its fair skies! 



72 TJie Life T^elodious 



GOOD NIGHT! 

The blissful hours whose festal shades 
Resound with Friendship's honest joys, 

Nor cruel tongues like clashing blades 
Befoul the air with hideous noise; 

Where friendship's chain is drawn more tight 
Round every mood which Love employs — 
Ah yes, Good Night! 

Or if, by meditation stirred, 

And looking back across the years. 

One's senses swim, one's sight is blurred. 
One's soul gives way to softening tears, 

While o'er the mists in radiance bright 
A vision of new hope appears — 
Call this Good Night! 

From out whose shadows one can trace. 
Along the ascending path of day, 

Some altar stones that mark the place 
Where Virtue fought and from the fray 

Came forth rejoicing in her might — 
All earth and heaven conspire to say 
Good Night! Good Night! 



/ Ser^ce 73 



wngs of oej-vice 



THE BETTER WAY 

'Twere better to toil for the bread one eats, 
Till sweat-drops crown an aching brow, 

Than be fed as the gods, on ambrosial sweets — 
And the joys of labor not to know : — 

'Twere better to gloat o'er the priceless gain 

Of virtues won by ills endured, 
Than to pray for a path devoid of pain 

And scorn the pleasure thus procured : — 

'Twere better all our swords were sheathed 
And Wrong to Reason bent the knee — 

Or else, 'twere best our brows were wreathed 
With garlands of the conquering free : — 

And 'twere better to fall in some earlier strife. 
One's heart with the truth, one's face to the foe, 

Than to add this shame to a lengthened life — 
The trumpet called me ; I did not go ! 



74 The Liije f^ el odious 



A SONG OF LABOR 

Let the good man preach 
And the wise man teach 
And the minstrel sing his song; 
In the world's wide reach 
There's a place for each 
To help the world along : — 

Let the kind man cure 

Both rich and poor 

For a fee more dear than gold ; 

Let the just man plead 

The rights decreed 

In statutes new and old : — 

Let the forge-man siiig 

Till the rafters ring 

And the red blaze roars with gle< 

Till the dull world knows 

How his honest blows 

Will shape its destiny ! 



Songs of Service 75 



O'er the perfumed soil 

Let the ploughman toil 

With buoyant heart and bold; 

While the day doth sleep 

Let the shepherd keep 

His watch o'er the slumbering fold : — 

When comes the need 

That patriots bleed 

So right may vanquish wrong, 

On an open field 

Let the warrior wield 

A weapon true and strong: — 

Or great, or small, 

There's a work for all — 

And all some work should do; 

But knaves and fools 

Must drop the tools 

That belong to craftsmen true ! 



76 The Life 9^elodioxis 



THE HEART FOR STRENGTH 

Hie heart was made to suffer long, 

Therefore 'tis strong. 
What staggering loads of silent grief 
'Twill bear along on wounds undressed, 
What pain 'twill carry unconf essed — 

Surpass belief. 

The heart was made to taunt the grave, 

Therefore 'tis brave. 
The way 'twill wrestle with despair 
And search the sky for signs of day 
While dangers mock the morn's delay 

Is wondrous fair. 



S^ jKorth Jerseyman s 
^niloso;^ny 



§^ T^orth Jerseymans ^hilosoj^hy 79 



WORKERS AND SHIRKERS 

Yaas, we see a few things, us farmers do — 
Spake my friend of the furrow in accent quaint — 
*Nd we have our idees about 'em, too, 
Which sometimes air right, 'nd then agin they 

aint, 
Fur there aint nuthin' arter all so deceevin' es 

looks ; 
But es fur a list to be marked in yer books 
"Not subject to discount," take this to commence, 
That the feller who sets up the loudest complaint 
'Ginst his neighbors, 'nd nature, 'nd a kind Provi- 
dence, 
^Nd could pace the bee-line fur 'em all too persoo 
Is the one whose own f urrer is furthest askew ; 
^Tis a purty safe landmark that the croaker's a 

shirk, 
While the feller he hetchels does the heft o' the 
work! 



8o The Life 9^e?oclwus 



NEEDLESS WORRY 

'Nd I've noticed, too, said this same Farmer White 
As he tamped the fresh earth round a post he was 

"settin'," 
That the things which never mateerialize, 
Es you fellers say who know how to talk wise — 
'Nd I s'pose all you mean is, they don't heave in 

sight — 
Air the ones about which we have done the most 

frettin', 
Whereas what does happen 's purty much a sur- 
prize ; 
So es I make things out then, 'tis mostly correct 
To handle our lives es the Scriptures direct, 
'Nd to leave fur tomorro' some share of its load, 
'Nd not try to stack what has never been mowed^ 



S^ y^orth Jerseymans ^Kiloso^hy 8 1 



HUMOR 

I don't mind a-hearin', now 'nd then, a few jokes:<>» 
Pervidin' they aint more 'n a century old, 
'Nd pervidin' the critter by which they air told 
Kin stand still 'nd listen when some other folks 
Es know a few yarns have a good one to tell — 
Though there aint a hull lot es kin spin a yarn 

well — 
But I can't find much room fur the feller who 

never 
Has time to talk sense on things whatsomever ; 
Fur life is too dear to be whittled away 
Into a heap of old shavin's, some trinkets 'nd toys : 
A plenty o' fun is all right fur the boys, 
But 'tis time fur a man to mix work with his play. 



82 ' The Life ?^elodioiLS 



EDUCATION 

Eddicarlon ! "^Miy, o* course 'tis a mighty good 

thing — 
A man's a dunce who vrA\ arg\' agin that; 
Eut when I gi: :o iookin' a: the impudent swing 
O' some of them youngsters right fresh out o' 

college 
IMio act 's if they'd raked up the hull field o' 

knowledge. 
"'Nd the stun: had m-ost busted the band o' their 

hat. 
'\\liat I sez to myself is that no miatter what school 
He may know how to yell fur. a fool's a fool — 
'Nd there's no fool so big es the one that's got 

learnin' ; 
But this I'll allow fur the most o' them chaps 
That they strike the true gait when they onct get 

to e-arnin' 
Their o^^m daily bread, 'nd have got a few raps 
From a world that don't keer any more fur degrees 
Than yender old ox es to what brand o' trees 
Makes the shade fur his arternoon naps. 



S^ j\orth Jerseymans Phi/oso^hi/ 83 



GENIUS 

Jes come here, my friend, 'nd fasten yer eyes 
On this hill o' peachblows ; fur number 'nd size 
I aint seen their like fur this many a year ; 
'Nd this is the thing that strikes me most queer — 
Thet they're from the same seed 'nd have had the 

same keer 
Es the rest o' the lot that youVe seen me fork out. 
Pur a gineral law there can't be much doubt 
That the seed, 'nd the soil, 'nd the hoein', to boot. 
Have a hull lot to do with the size of the fruit — 
Yit once in a while, without any known reason. 
There comes up a crop that astounds the hull 

season ; 
'Tis jest so with live-stock, 'nd if you'll agree, 
^Tis so with the herd that contains you and me — 
'Bout every so often some feller arises 
Thet dazzles the world with a lot of surprises — 
'Nd men don't inquire for his family tree, 
Pur they know he's a makin' his own pedigree. 



84 The Life Melodious 



PESSIMISM 

'Bout things that tuck place afore I wuz born 
That I don't know a rackful I ecknowledge the 

corn; 
'Nd es fur travelin', I aint had time fur to shack 
Outside the sight of my own chimbly smoke, 
Es the old saj'in' runs; but some year or so back 
There come a strange preacher 'long, 'nd he up 

and he spoke 
In our meetin' house here, 'nd made no leetle fuss 
Es to how the hull world wuz a gittin' wuss 'nd 

wuss. 
'Nd how honor wuz a perishin', 'nd virtue a dyin', 
'Till — well, the hull congregation just broke out a 

cryin', 
'Nd Jeremiah Slocum, he tuck it so to heart 
That he asked the young parson wouldn't he stay 

with us a spell, 
'VMiich he did; 'nd the wonderful things he could 

teU 
'Bout the dark ways o' life, I own up was smart — 
Yit somethin' inside o' me all the time kept a 

sayin' 
""WTiat's the use, I'd like to know, of all our preach- 
in' 'nd prayin' 
Ef it don't count? 'Nd though 'tis past all denyin' 
That some men couldn't well act \^"iiss 'n they do, 



5T JHorth Jerseymans Phi/oso^hi/ 85 



Yit pervidin' the hull force pans out like the crew 
That is mannin' the ship in this here humble 

village, 
Then we'd better cheer up 'nd go on with our 

tillage, 
Fur conscious or onconscious, the preacher's a 

lyin'; 
God knows what he's a doin', 'nd I venture the 

guess 
That he means the main stock for to be a success." 
But Jeremiah he sides with the preacher 'nd says 
That he finds in that view the most happiness. 



86 The Life J^elodious 



POETRY 

'Nd what about portry 'nd music 'nd sich? 
Waal now, it behooves me to watch what I say ; 
I could talk more commandin' es to diggin' a ditch 
Or graftin' a tree, or the curin' o' hay; 
But although I can't tell the tother from which 
0' the big guns who writ the world's songs 'nd 

its tunes, 
Yit I take off my hat to their shinin' galoons, 
At the same time confessin' that there's many a 

day 
When my own soul starts to talk in an onusual 

pitch — 
Es fur instance when the blue-bird is a flirtin' her 

wing, 
'Nd the wilier is a sproutin' by the side o' the 

spring. 
When the ferns air unroUin' on the banks o' the 

rills, 
'Nd a vision of heaven seems to stand on the 

hills- 
No, I aint a poet, 'nd yit I'll just bet 
I know how they felt when they reeled off the 

rhyme 
That put the hull world so deep in their debt 



S^ JHorth Jerseymans ^m/oso^hy 87 



That 'twill never git out to the end of all time ; 
'Nd I have this notion, if it's wrong you'll cor- 
rect it, 
That we all have this gift 'nd 'tis a shame to neg- 
lect it; 
With Nature a soundin' her big tunin 'fork, 
'Tis a strange sort of feller kin go on with his 

work, 
Only thinkin' of crops, 'nd the makin' of money; 
'Tis a beautiful place where the bee gits his honey, 
'Nd I guess the bee knows it ; leastwise we'll agree 
That a man's more account than a mere honey bee. 



88 The Life j^ el odious 



REPUTATION 

Outside the bells that forever air a pealin' 
In the heart of each man who is doin' his best, 
A name that is known fur 'nd wide fur fair dealin' 
Is the richest estate that wuz ever possessed ; 
'Nd of all the poltroons not yet under arrest 
The wust is that feller who goes round a stealin' 
^liat a man has laid up in the hearts of his 

neighbors ; 
It tuck Nature more'n a clean hundred year 
0' stiddy attention 'nd unceasin' labors 
To build up this oak that you see standin' here ; 
*Nd jest es one man with his wee bit o' power 
Kin level the thing to the airth in an hour, 
Sometimes a sharp tongue with a mean heart be- 
hind it 
Kin put a good name where the public can't find it. 



S^ JHorth Jerseymans jPhi/oso^hy 8q 



PREACHING 

There's one thing I confess that I never could see, 

'Nd that is, what good it kin possibly be 

Fur a preacher to stand up through an hour or 

more 
A sparrin' with doubts sich as never before 
Have had any place in the minds of his people ; 
That sermon does best which is most like the 

steeple 
Of the place it is preached in — at least, so I 

reckon — 
It should have but one aim, 'nd that is to beckon 
Our gropin' hearts up to where their hopes air a 

nestin* ; 
'Nd es steeples have somethin* on which they're a 

restin'. 
So a sermon does best on some sort of foundation. 
Fur you can't build yer faith on the bogs of nega- 
tion! 



Future^ward Strains 



Future -ward Strains 93 



VOICES OF LIFE 



Wake, my soul, the morning greets thee ; 

Sunbeams arch life's opening gate : 
Down the pathway love entreats thee, 

Kise, my soul, and do not wait. 

Hark, my soul, the noontide hails thee ; 

Speak, and cheer the sun-scorched plain ! 
Tell the strength that never fails thee ; 

Tell thy joy, but hide thy pain. 

Hush, my soul, the night-winds call thee, 
O'er the hill-crest daylight flies ; 

Fear thou not what may befall thee — 
Stars are shining in the skies! 



94 The Life J^elodious 



NO QUARREL WITH LIFE 

I will not quarrel, Life, with thee ; 

Thou hast been kind to me ; 

My cup of joy oft hast thou filled, 

And e'en to overflowing; 

If oft its contents have been spilled 

Twas not to thy fault owing. 

I have no quarrel. Life, with thee, 

Thou hast been true to me : 

Thy soil hath ne*er withheld its yield 

If sown with hand unsparing; 

Where weeds and tares have marred the field 

Thou stood'st, my sorrow sharing! 



Future-ward Strains QS 



THE SONG UNSUNG 

There's a song in my soul unsung — 

To mortal ears unheard; 
The golden harp has not been strung, 
Nor e'er was born the beauteous word, 
That could accompany — 
Or voice the melody. 

There's a prayer in my heart unsaid — 

By symbols unexpressed; 
Its litany no priest has read — 

Not all the creeds by saints confessed. 
Nor all the hymns that rise — 
Can bear it to the skies. 

There's a wish that goes unfulfilled 
In a pathway strewn with tears ; 
But it sings each day to a heart more skilled, 
And it lives through the dying years ; 
It will sing, it will hope, it will live — 
' 'Till the heavens their answer give! 



g6 Tke Life Melodious 



A PRAYER FOR FAITH 

Amidst the warring words of men 
On things too deep for mortal ken, 
We bend, God, the suppliant knee 
And pray for humbler faith in Thee I 

Our minds are little — this we know ; 
Our needs are large and larger grow 
The more we seek to hush their cries 
With this poor world's philosophies. 

Through unknown skies the home-bound dove 
Finds one sure path staked out by love ; 
And cleaves the air with trustful wing 
Till nestlings chant her welcoming. 

So past the bounds of measured thought, 
And all the mists our minds have wrought, 
Help us an hom^eward path descry — 
And teach our stumbling faith to fly! 



Future-ward Strains 97 



LIVES HOLY GRAIL 

Upon the hill-crest of the far-off years — 

Emerging years — 
A vision calls to me with voice more sweet 
Than e'er was mingled with a mother's tears. 

Or e'er did greet 
The best of all the apocalyptic seers. 

Above the mists of intervening vales — 

Strife-echoing vales — 
It points the way my faltering feet must take; 
Smiles sweetly down when my poor courage quails 

And bids me wake 
To find my strength in its ascending trails. 

And there it stands upon the waiting hills — 

Life's purpling hills — 
I swear to it my deep-most wish and thought, 
And pray for patience to endure what ills 

Must be inwrought 
To gem the cup its perfect presence fills ! 



g6 The Life J^elodious 



THE sours INSISTENCE 

When they that know me here have said, 

"He's gone," 
And harsher lips proclaim me dead, 
I shall be living on; 
"VMien o'er my head 
Some kindly shaft perchance will tell 

\"\liere first was seen, 
And then where sank, this outworn shell, 
(Let silence have the stretch between!) 

I shall be sailing on: 
Or else, to Life's wide wave 
Were there no harbor but the grave — 
No harboring hope to feed upon ; 
And Love were launched to chase a myth, 
A thing for storms to wrestle with 
And glut oblivion ! 



Future-ward Strains 99 



When earth's recruited ranks one day 

The heights have scaled, 
Then I who shared the glorious fray, 

And did my best, 
Shall not have fought and failed ; 
But from the crest 
Of mountain ranges far ahead — 
With myriads of the listed dead, 
Sceptered and crowned, 
I shall be looking down; 
Else, Faith were breathed the soul within 
To fight for life with blows of steel, 
To clinch with Doubt, to conquer sin. 

And then to fall — 
And falling kiss Death's crushing heel — 
And that were all ! 



100 TJie Life !M el odious 



AN EASTER-TIDE REVERIE 

Do^Mi through the mystic shadows of the night, 

And silently as yonder falling star, 
Do those we mourn e'er take their losing flight 
To v\'here our poor hearts worn "^vith weeping 
are — 
In sacred though unspoken tryst 
To cheer the dampening mist? 

Our blessed dead — 'tis well these sad hearts know 

To call them by so dear and true a name! 
Through all the changeful years that come and go 
In Memory's sure grasp they keep the same ; 
\Miile tender touches seem to say 
They are not far away ! 

But 0, that the trembling veil would sometime 
break 
And give to us the forms we feel so near ! 
And 0, that their long-sealed lips for once might 
speak 
The whispered love we long so much to hear ! 
Alas! 'twere all of heaven below, 
If we could have it so. 



Future-ward Strains lOI 



Patience, dear heart, from Hope's benignant sky 

Yet shall all frowns forever be withdrawn ! 
Sometime? ah, soon these dreary shades shall fly 
Before the conquering feet of deathless Dawn — 
And through the fast dissolving veil 
Our loved ones we shall hail ! 



I02 The Life 7^ el odious 



A SOLILOQUY 

I have watched the golden sunset 
Kesting on the snow-clad hills, 

While my heart was cheered with laughter 
From the buried rills! 

I have stood upon the mountain 
Where the winds march to and fro, 

And have gazed into the valley 
Slumbering below; 

Till the tasks of life grew smaller 
As I viewed them from the height; 
And the mists were iridescent 
With refracted light: 



Future-ward Strains 103 



I have traced the distant river 
Winding, like a silver thread, 

In and out where mystic forests 
Arch their boughs o'erhead; 

And it seemed to mark the purpose, 
Half-disclosed and half -concealed. 

That shall knit life's broken landscapes 
Into one fair field: 

I have turned my face to heaven 
In the stillness of the night. 

Till my raptured soul was moving 
In celestial flight : 



I04 The Life 7^ el odious 



"World of wondrous, beauteous grandeur!' 
Yea, my soul, and this beside : 
All the grandeur thou beholdest 
Doth in thee reside! 

Thou art richer than the sunset ; 
Thou art larger than the sky ; 
Thou art stronger than the mountain ; 
Thou shalt never die ! 

Just beyond death's opening portal 
Dawns a day of new surprise: 

These fair scenes but blaze thy pathway 
Into Paradise! 



Future-ward Strains 105 

THE HARPSTRINGS OF THE 
HIRELING RUST 

The harpstrings of the hireling soon shall rust, 

And in the stillness he will wake to learn 

How surely Fame denies her sacred urn 

To sordid hands. In this the world is just. 

The poet sings his song because he must ; 

And though the world to-day his voice may spurn, 

In some good morrow men perchance will turn 

To chant their praises o'er his slumbering dust. 

Beneath the surface of historic deed 

A kindred law works out its silent creed : 

Within the scope of one immortal soul 

Two warring motives cannot touch the goal ; 

Who wins the race makes all the stadium his — 

One's conquering motive makes one what he is ' 



A he Heritage of the Church 



The Heritage of the Church 109 



THE HERITAGE OF THE CHURCH 



Head at the Celebration of the Completion of the First 

Half -Century of Newark Conference, Morris to wh, 

N. J., April 4, 1907 



Church of God, how great thine heritage ! 

From each ascending and expanding age 

Upon thy jeweled walls 

What gathering splendor falls ! 

How doth each gate lift up its hoary head, 

O'er writ with records of the undying dead — 

A lustrous roll by wondering ages read! 

Heroes, whose toils have shamed the Grecian 

myths. 
Whose names outlast Egyptian monoliths ! 

Martyrs, who hallowed all whereon they stood 
And mingled theirs with Christ's atoning blood! 

Mystics, who trimmed the precious lamp of life, 

And kept Truth's altar fires a-burning 

While kings and priests to baser things were 

turning. 
And deepening shadows rang with shameful 

strife I 



no The Life J^elodious 



Cowled forms, that watched in many a lonely vale 
And caught their message from the nightingale. 

Princes, with hearts long hurt by Moslem heel, 
Who, fired with holy if untempered zeal, 
Pledged their warm blood to plant the cross again 
Where gleamed the crescent over hill and plain. 

Heralds of dawn, their banners tinged with light, 
Emerging grandly from the fields of night, 
Forerunners worthy of that mightier band, 
Who in their time with Truth made open stand 
And struck the blows which trembling Falsehood 

felt. 
Till rescued Conscience to its maker knelt. 

Strong souls, that climbed the rapturous heights 

of song, 
Whose visions cheered the struggling world along 
Toward yonder day when Justice, Love and Peace 
Shall fill the earth, and every discord cease. 

Masters of melody, whose anthems rose 

Like golden stairways o'er the world's dark woes. 

Painters, who wrought with more than human art 
And mixed their pigments in the world's warm 
heart. 



The Heritage of the Church III 



Students, o'erwearied with their classic lore, 

Who sunk their shafts to more enriching ore 

And issued forth at Love's imperial call 

To peasant hut and proud palatial hall, 

To each bequeathing what it needed most. 

To each restoring what it long had lost, 

Eeady to do, to dare, to die, to suif er loss. 

To follow Christ and His resplendent cross 

Where it might lead, what warfare it might 
wage — 

Church of God, how great thine heritage! 

Nor pen may picture, neither tongue relate 

That wealthier dowry of thine unknown great — 

That longer roll to earthly fame unknown, 

Yet deeply graven on the eternal throne — 

All — all are thine — and all are ours if we 

Prove worthy heirs of such an ancestry. 



112 The Life Melodious 



strong battalion of the Church of God, 
'Tis well we pause to mark what men have trod 
The sacred soil on which we march today. 
What patriots bled ; what valiant souls made way 
For Liberty's advance; what statesmen rose, 
With courage equal to the subtlest foes ; 
How well they built, with what a wondrous skill 
They held the plumb-line to a people's will ; 
What axmen cleared the western wilderness ; 
What cities rose, what states were born to bless 
Their faith ; what sailors wrestled with the sea ; 
What fleets upheld the emblems of the free; 
What soldiers answered to their nation's call; 
What blood was spilt a race to disenthrall ; 
And, long ere that gigantic strife was done. 
What mutual pride made all the country one ! 



The Heritage of the Church 1 1 3 



Such were the deeds our grateful praises crown, 
And such their structured strength, while deeper 

down 
Truth bids us cast our all too slumbering eyes 
And mark the basis of this great emprise. 
What golden reed can give the massive strength, 
The breadth, the depth, the apocalyptic length 
Of Truth's foundation walls? Portray what pen 
Their beauty blended with the deeds of men? 
Thank heaven, our fathers had the gift to see 
In character the soul of liberty ! 
That first among the things to bless this sod 
Arose the rafters of the Church of God ! 
may she stay what she so long hath been — 
Maker and moulder of a nation's men. 
Conservator of public righteousness, 
In whose unending trust Truth's trumpet is; 
Sweeping aside with Truth's unswerved decree 
Each vain conceit, each subtle sophistry 
That sin suggests, till comes the glorious time 
When Truth shall reign, all-conquering an^^ sub- 
lime! 



114 Tlie Life Melodious 



In such a spirit, O my comrades, we 
May celebrate this half a century 
Vvliose flashing milestone greets our gladdening 
And waits the garland of our joyful praise: 
With such a pride recall the deeds of those 
^.^Tio from these ranks, their faces to their foes, 
Fell cheering on the onward moving host; 
WTiose memory commands the uttermost 
Our hands can do, our loyal hearts desire ; 
"^^•liose lingering campflres light the evening skies ; 
^^lio, while we pause beneath the healing stars 
To bind our wounds or count our glowing scars, 
On heaven's high walls have hung their flaming 

shields 
And joined the victors of a thousand fields! 

While down the heights in echoing minstrelsy 

Their peans roll of peace and victory. 

WTiat though in sorrow must their names be 

spoken, 
'Tis ours to keep the muster-roll unbroken ! 
They are not dead for whom we softly call, 
They are not lost for whom our strong tears fall, 
They are with God — and God is over all ! 

Rise, comrades, rise — we do not march alone. 
In all this war the hosts of God are one ! 



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